"Korea and V4 Countries of Eastern Europe, Let's Expand Economic Cooperation in the Green Mobility Sector"

[Asia Economy Reporter Dongwoo Lee] Our companies and Eastern Europe have reaffirmed their commitment to expanding research and development (R&D) and cooperation in the green mobility sector.

The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), together with the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, held the 'V4 Plus Economic and Trade Forum' on the 20th with the so-called Visegr?d Group (V4) countries?Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia?to discuss cooperation measures.

The forum was held to seek support for companies entering the market and ways to enhance cooperation between the two regions amid the restructuring of the global value chain (GVC) due to the spread of COVID-19 and the expansion of investments by Korean companies in Eastern Europe, a key production base in Europe.

Woo Tae-hee, Executive Vice Chairman of KCCI, stated, "Korea has secured unique core technologies and production know-how through massive R&D investments and has strengthened its responsiveness in Europe, where electric vehicle growth is the highest, by establishing local factories. As evidenced by the increase in Korean companies' global market share of secondary batteries from 15.8% last year to 35% this year, our companies' leadership in the battery industry is expected to be maintained for the time being."

Jang Seung-se, Executive Director of LG Chem, who gave the keynote presentation at the forum, predicted, "The electric vehicle market will grow substantially as it transforms from a government-led 'regulation-driven' market to a 'consumer-driven' market through strengthened environmental regulations by governments, continuous battery price reductions, improvements in electric vehicle performance, expansion of charging infrastructure, and diversification of OEM electric vehicle types and models."

Kang Sung-ryong, Director of the Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology, explained, "The V4 region is focusing on fostering high value-added industries such as automobiles, machinery, and electrical and electronics based on traditional manufacturing and excellent basic science levels. As it plays the role of Europe’s automobile production hub and is rapidly integrating into future vehicle supply chains such as electric and hydrogen vehicles, it is a crucial time to strengthen cooperation in the green mobility sector."

Park Ki-young, Deputy Minister for Trade, who attended the forum, said, "Based on the opinions discussed today, we will strive to discover economic cooperation agendas between Korea and the V4 region and actively convey our companies' requests to the respective governments through consultation channels, doing our best as a government."

Meanwhile, on the Korean side, attendees included Woo Tae-hee, Executive Vice Chairman of KCCI; Park Ki-young, Deputy Minister for Trade; Jang Seung-se, Executive Director; Song Ho-jun, Executive Director of Samsung SDI; Kim Kyung-soo, Managing Director of Hyundai Motor Group; Cheon Sang-pil, Managing Director of Samsung Electronics; Kim Kyung-han, Executive Director of POSCO; Jo Deok-je, Executive Director of Doosan Bobcat; Lee Han-joo, Executive Director of Hyosung Advanced Materials; Kang Sung-ryong, Director of the Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology; Son Soo-deuk, Head of KOTRA; Kim Ho-il, Head of the Korea Trade Insurance Corporation; and professors Park Sang-chul of Korea Polytechnic University and Seo Dae-sung of Sungkyul University.

From the V4 countries, attendees included Piotr Ostaszewski, Ambassador of Poland to Korea; Moses Chomer, Ambassador of Hungary to Korea; Jan Kuderjavi, Ambassador of Slovakia to Korea; and Gustav Slameczka, Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Korea.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.